How you can help solve cold cases from home

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (KSTU) -- So you’ve been self quarantining at home, trying to help flatten the curve and in the process, you’re also binge-watching a lot of TV shows and movies.

That’s certainly one way to pass the time and a lot of folks seem to really enjoy true crime series and documentaries.

Well if you’ve run out of ideas of what to watch, Folks with the Utah Department Of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Investigations has a suggestion for you.

Why not spend some time scrolling through Utah’s cold case murder and missing person website?

“So that’s why I feel it’s very valuable for the public to get involved, we need you, you know, this is important,” Kathy Mackay, Cold Case Crime Analyst with Utah DPS, said.

The site has been upgraded and streamlined over the past two years and now features more than 400 cases, some are high profile while others are not, some go back more than 50 years.

Officials say many times it only takes one solid tip to put a cold case right back on the front burner.

“I here the public all the time, they want to get involved, this is a time to get involved! We’re all sitting in front of our TVs you know? Let’s make it a useful time. The Tiger King, I don’t know if that’s real useful but this is going to help the families that are just still waiting for that resolution,” Mackay said.

Many departments already have Detectives assigned to cold case murder and missing persons cases but they tend to be very labor-intensive and time-consuming.